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How Not to Properly Maintain Your Home.

Here are a few home maintenance tips that, in my opinion, are bad ideas.

Power washing the exterior of the home. This is a good idea that will keep the home clean, if done properly. It’s okay to power wash vinyl siding. Just don’t use the jet spray nozzle from up close. It can tear right through the siding or a screen. Be very careful using a power washer on cedar shakes, you can easily destroy them. And if your roof has stains? Don’t power wash, you’ll wash years off the life of the roof. Use a shampoo designed for roofs instead.

Everybody likes neat landscaping around the house. A favorite material for many is mulch. But mulch can emit mold spores that can erupt onto the siding. And once they hit the siding, they cannot be removed. You are then left with visible black dots on the siding up to ten foot high – or more. Mulch is also a possible new source of food for termites. And they won’t stop at the mulch, they’ll go to the house next. Small statues around the house are also termite bait.

What about a storm door? When the sun hits a storm door, the space between the storm door and the regular doors heats up quickly, even on a cold day. Eventually the heat will cause a wood or fiberglass door to warp or crack.